Days of Our Lives Round Table: Goodbye to #Elani

Belle slept with EJ! Chad continued to mourn Abigial, and Eli and Lani left Salem this week on Days of Our Lives.

Our TV Fanatics, Jack and Christine, are joined by Silvananoir from MyHourglass, a Days of Our Lives fan forum, to debate the Elani goodbyes, Belle and EJ’s future, if Rafe and Nicole’s marriage will last, and more!

Are Belle and EJ just using one another to get back at Shawn and Sami, or do they have real feelings for one another? How do you hope things turn out for this couple?

Silvananoir: Partly. But Jan had a point. Whenever Belle feels insecure in her relationship with Shawn, she tends to lean on other men.

How deep are these feelings? To me, this is just a relationship of comfort. They like and respect each other, their relationships have fallen off a cliff, and they are leaning on each other. Is this love? I don’t believe so.

But I will enjoy it, and honestly, I hope they remain friendly. I enjoyed their friendship beforehand.

Jack: I think it’s a bit of both. I wish they had taken it a bit more slowly. Belle let EJ talk her into having sex before she was ready, and now she feels guilty, which is not a good sign.

I ship Shelle, so I want Belle and Shawn to get back together, but there’s a lot of work ahead for that to happen. If EJ has to be with one of the sisters, I’d prefer Belle to Sami. EJ and Sami always seemed like a competition to see who could do the worse thing to the other.

Christine: I think Belle and EJ care about one another, but sticking it to Shawn and Sami is a bit of a bonus prize right now.

I’m not a Shelle shipper. I find them really dull. And Sami and EJ frequently walk the line of a toxic relationship. So, I’m interested in seeing where EJ and Belle can take this together.

Orpheus revealed that Jan slept with Evan in prison, and her baby could be his, not Shawn’s. Are you relieved or disappointed by this turn of events?

Silvananoir: Glad. Jan should not have any connection to Shawn. But this doesn’t negate Belle’s feelings or Shawn’s behavior. It doesn’t undo the decisions that Shawn has made.

I understand him, but he really needs to establish better boundaries with Jan. I will say that I really hate baby test drama, so this is a little annoying to me.

Jack: I will say the whole thing of male prisoners interacting with a female prisoner is unrealistic, but since I like Orpheus, I will overlook it. I figured from the get-go the baby was not really Shawn’s.

Orpheus is one of my favorite villains, but I hope the writing for him during this story is better than it has been the last few times he was featured.

I find this intriguing, although I figured Orpheus wanted Jan in his debt as soon as he revealed that he had helped her. I’m curious as to what Evan/Christian will do now that he knows his father betrayed him.

Christine: Oddly enough, I’m disappointed. I’ve grown to like the complications of Shawn figuring out how to raise his son on his own.

Unfortunately, he hasn’t taken any of that seriously because he’s let Jan and Belle make all of the decisions. I was hoping we’d get to the point where Shawn showed more backbone in order to care for his child, but now that probably won’t happen.

Rafe and Nicole got married at the courthouse just as Eric was likely to tell Nicole he still has feelings for her. Will Rafe and Nicole’s marriage last? Do you want it to last?

Silvananoir: Nope. I think the show has made it clear that Ericole is endgame. And Rafe and Nicole never should have gotten married. They’ve been in a relationship for five minutes. That’s nowhere near long enough to establish that this was the right move.

Eric and Nicole are already drawn to each other, all they need is one high-pressure moment, and it’s over.

Jack: I love Rafe and Nicole together and want it to last, but the writing’s already on the wall here. As soon as Nicole and Rafe began having feelings pre-Ava,

I figured Eric would be back sooner or later to steal Nicole back so they could be together for a week before he finds something to hate Nicole for again. I wish I were wrong, but it doesn’t seem like it so far.

Christine: An off-screen, quickie wedding is a sure sign that the show isn’t taking this relationship seriously. And with Eric on the verge of telling Nicole how he feels, it’s only a matter of time before Ericole is back together.

The only question now is whether it will be before or after Nicole breaks up with Rafe.

Chad continued to grieve Abigail and was consoled by Marlena, John, JJ, Jack, and Jennifer. Which was your favorite interaction?

Silvananoir: I really loved the scenes with Marlena and John. They were just so good with him, especially Marlena. Although Jack wasn’t a problem, I think mainly because Cady played Jennifer, I couldn’t quite connect to the scene.

Jack: I was, of course, thrilled that JJ was back. I had hoped that he and Chad would bond over the fact that JJ has lost two women he loved to violence and was disappointed that didn’t happen, but I was glad that he apologized for the past and welcomed Chad as his brother now.

I also thought John did a great job of consoling Chad. Even though the loss of Isabella wasn’t the same, he could relate to him. I’m trying to remember if Chad and John have had many, if any, interactions before. Either way, this one was fantastic.

Christine: John and Chad were my favorite scene. John was completely empathetic in a way that no one else was. And I think it was easier for Chad to talk to someone who wasn’t family.

With Lani going to prison out of state, Lani, Eli, Jules, and Carver left Salem? There were lots of goodbyes with friends and family. Which did you enjoy the most?

Silvananoir: I loved the scene with Paulina and Abe. It just felt so much like healing and a family coming together. I didn’t always love ELani, but the goodbyes really made me rethink my feelings about them.

Jack: I liked Abe giving Lani the adoption papers. And of course, the babies were adorable, and it was sad that they didn’t know what was happening.

If Eli were staying, I’d worry about him and Gabi re-connecting over the fact that Gabi knows from the other side what it’s like to be a mother of a young child in jail. I also liked Lani accepting Paulina as her mother.

Christine: I loved the scenes with Julie and Eli. They are so different, yet they’ve forged such an emotional bond. It was wonderful to see that highlighted before Eli left Salem.

Hope gifted Ben and Ciara a boat named, Living in Cin. Are you a fan of the name? What do you think of this new family sailing off together?

Silvananoir: Gross. I hate it so much that the show tries so hard to make them Bope 2.0. They’re not. Honestly, I’m glad to see them gone. I’m sad for their fans, but I never really loved Cin and am glad to have a break.

Jack: I said this is what Ciara’s family does 30 seconds before Ciara said it. So for that reason, I’m fine with this ending for them. It’s a repeat of Hope and Bo leaving with baby Shawn Douglas, which is one of my first Days memories, so that’s a nice homage too.

I don’t like the name. I think it was chosen in honor of the Twitter fans more than anything else, and I don’t think it’s the kind of name Hope would have chosen, although Julie’s reaction to it was hilarious.

Christine: I love the name. The Fancy Face nickname has run its course, and this was a great inside joke to fans. Plus, it feels like it fits Ciara’s personality.

But I have to ask, do either Ciara or Ben know how to sail?

What, if anything, disappointed you this week in Salem?

Silvananoir: Brady and Kristen. I wish there had been more. If you’re going to bring Kristen back, I want the drama. I want the argument. I want Kristen to lose her mind over Broe reuniting. It just felt like this was Brady moralizing, and it fell flat.

Jack: Although Lani’s goodbyes were well done, I felt like the whole thing was rushed. I understand the actors were leaving, but Days never seems to plan exits, and the writers always end up in a rush to write them out during their last week.

I also thought this was a great chance to establish that Lani and Kristen had more than friendship feelings for each other and that Days missed it.

Finally, while I was thrilled JJ was back, I didn’t like that when Jennifer and Jack came to the penthouse, Jennifer ignored him altogether, and then when she asked him to look after Chad, it was almost like an afterthought, as if she’d forgotten he was even there.

I realize Chad was the focal point of those scenes, and it made sense that Jack talked to JJ privately, but I’d think Jennifer would at least want to say hello to her only living child, who she was always so overprotective of when she had two.

Christine: Brady and Chloe are a constant disappointment lately. They’re Salem’s new moral police and butt into everyone else’s business. And Brady visiting Kristen felt pointless.

First, he says he’s considering not allowing her to see her daughter, which is the equivalent of waving a red flag in front of a bull. Then he gives her Rachel’s Valentine and says he’ll come to visit her again in Statesville. The whole thing was just weird.

What was your favorite quote, scene, or storyline on this week’s Days of Our Lives?

Silvananoir: I love the Last Blast teens interacting. Chloe and Jan were my favorite. Chloe did not even try to play nice but let Jan know that she saw right through, and Jan landed a shot about Belle. Both sides were strong and gave no quarter, so I really enjoyed that.

I also love that Chloe ran cover for Belle. I mean, Brady understands that Belle has done something pretty major from Chloe telling him not to see her. But I don’t think he realizes that she slept with EJ, at least not yet.

Chloe is a good friend to Belle and will probably contact her asap to give her a heads up.

Jack: Did I mention how excited I was that JJ was back? I also liked Theo and Chanel’s conversations, and any week with a lot of Julie is a good week, in my opinion. Julie had some great one-liners with Jan.

My favorite was when Jan asked for a boat too, and Julie suggested the Titanic.

Christine: Julie had some of the best lines this week, from telling Eli she and Doug would be the houseguests from hell to this Days of Our Lives quote:

Lani: If I start to wear down I’ll just ask myself, what would Julie do?”
Julie: What a great notion. Do you suppose we can make that a rule for everybody to follow?

And then there was Sami and Lucas talking about why Sami has a questionable relationship with her little sister.

Lucas: Your relationship with your sister has kind of been screwed up from the very beginning. You know, ever since she was a baby and you tried to sell her on the black market.
Sami: Are you seriously throwing that in my face right now? How come people can’t just move on from that? That was a long time ago. I was a kid. And they got her back. They did get her back. Now she uses that was an excuse to blame me for everything wrong that ever happens in her life.

Also, I really enjoyed both Belle and EJ’s pre-sex argument and post-sex talk. These two talk to one another honestly, which is something we don’t get to see from many other soap couples, and it’s refreshing.

Now it’s your turn, Days fans! Click the SHOW COMMENTS button below to answer our round table questions. Then check out our Days of Our Lives review here at TV Fanatic.

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C. Orlando is a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. Follow her on Twitter.

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